Cultivate your references early

Your internship application may be one of the first times you are asked to give professional references. Professional references are distinct from personal or character references. A professional reference can comment on your abilities and performance in relation to work.
Smart people begin to cultivate references long before they need them. Generally, employers ask for at least three and will check with at least two of those — and perhaps some you don’t list.
Where can you find good professional references for a first internship? They generally come from three areas. One, of course, is from any kind of professional work you did. It likely won’t be a full-blown job, but it could be volunteering, being selected as finalist for a scholarship or doing some kind of part-time work.

When the Detroit Free Press covers local elections, we hire as many as twenty students to work with us on election night. I bring in journalism students. I tell the students that working the election can be an early résumé builder and could even lead to a limited reference. I pay attention to how they do and ask other people at the paper how they did. If someone fails to show or slacks off, I do not ask them back. If they hustle and excel, I try to invite them back and can give a little reference on them. Professional references are your best ones.
Next best are professors, advisers, placement directors and other professionals in the university community who can say good things about your work in class or around campus. They might be asked about your ability to meet deadlines, the quality of your work, your work ethic, and the leadership you demonstrate.
Third best are employers who can comment on your work habits at non-journalism jobs.
Do not list fellow students who supervised you on extracurricular activities. There is a good chance that the student you list as a reference might be a competitor for the internship. For all we know, it is a boyfriend or girlfriend. Or an ex. Cultivate professors or advisers instead.
If your résumé is getting too crowded for one page, use a second sheet just for references. Most editors will still see this as a one-page résumé. Don’t say “References available upon request.” Just list them.
Article by Joe Grimm, Recruiting and Development Editor for the Detroit Free Press. This is adapted from the new book, “Breaking In: The www.JobsPage.com Guide to Newspaper Internships.” For details, visit www.jobspage.com/